Faux Planked Table Transformation

Good morning and good Tuesday to you! I wanted to post yesterday, but I was overcome with the Monday-ness of the day, and ended up wandering aimlessly in my pajamas, eating peanut butter.

But today is a new day! And I have a fun furniture transformation to share!

This is actually an older post from our archives, and I get questions often to share a more detailed tutorial for how to get this ‘planked’ look on tabletops. So I’m going to go for it!

It was a sturdy little set, and I loved the character of the pedestal base. But the top surface is laminate, so my staining technique was out of the question. I just wasn’t having a surge of inspiration.

So it sat. In our garage. For a LONG time. Until on a whim, we decided to paint this bad boy and be done with it.

Because the top was shiny laminate, we needed to sand it to dull it down. Otherwise the primer wouldn’t have anything to grab onto.

The pale yellow paint was a fairly flat sheen already, so we didn’t worry about sanding that part. If it had been glossy, we definitely would have! We primed and painted white with RustOleum spray paint in a satin sheen.

I decided I wanted to paint the table to look kinda driftwood-y Restoration Hardware-esque with white chairs. I’ve been loving this technique I came up with for ‘aging’ wood. I paint raw wood white, then sand it until I can see the woodgrain popping through, then STAIN. But since this table is painted, we skipped the sanding part (since it’s just laminate (plastic) on the top surface instead of) and went right to the staining.

Nick brushed on the stain (we used RustOleum Dark Walnut), and I came behind him and wiped the stain away… leaving it in the cracks and crevices, and aging the crisp white.

I wanted the top surface to resemble planks, so I taped off every other 4” (ish) to stain individual planks.

Then I brushed on stain and wiped it away with a cotton cloth, using a straight sweeping motion to create a streaky woodgrain look.

I took the tape off right after staining. Then, after that stain had dried (several hours), I came back and taped off the remaining white planks and stained them the same way.

After removing the tape, it was starting to look like individual planks!

I liked where this was going, but I still wanted each individual ‘board’ to stand out from one another more, so I taped off a tiny slice on the cracks of each board, and stained it dark to resemble a crack.

And then it looked like this.

Not bad eh?! Our garage was too nasty to take ‘after pictures’, so we hauled this babe into our dining room (this was at our old house) for a little photoshoot.

I love the distressed wood look with the crisp white chairs. Don’t you think this would look amazing with just about any décor style? I would say it definitely has some farmhouse vibes though for sure.

Here’s a little before/after action.

This furniture transformation was SO SIMPLE. And if it weren’t for paint drying times, we could have knocked this one out in an afternoon easily. Do you think you’ll give this technique a try?

~Bethany

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Also, if you’re looking for a way to update your table with less complex instructions, try our graywashing technique to get that farmhouse look in just an afternoon!

I’m guessing if you love the ‘worn/shabby’ look, you might also love this technique I found to make new pine boards look like old barn wood. If this doesn’t scream farmhouse, I don’t know what does. 😉

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About Bethany Sy

Bethany Sy is the creative free-spirit behind DIY/Lifestyle blog, Reality Daydream. She and her husband have been making their 117-year-old homestead their own, and love sharing tips and tutorials along the way. When they found themselves in the trenches of infertility, they started a journey that would prove to be their most important DIY project ever, and have 3 beautiful girls to show for it.

I absolutely love this and yes please to a video tutorial…….I have a table and chair just like this (well like your starting project) I would so like to do this …….I was unsure because for the laminate top on my table but you have inspired me….thank you sooooo much

Poly is the way to go! It won’t turn foggy on ya. I wouldn’t set anything hot on it tough… that’s when it turns foggy. But that’s with any table. Do keep in mind that while oil-based poly is the most durable, it does dry with a slight yellowish tint. I always recommend using water-based poly over white paint because the yellow is more obvious in those situations. Hope this all makes sense! <3 PLEASE send pics when you're done!

Definitely going to be using this idea!!! Our kitchen table is a family hand-me-down that started life as a nice dining room table. We live in a small-house without a dining room and the kitchen table gets a LOT of wear and tear because it is also a work table for everything from doing homework to kneading bread or paying bills. The wood laminate top has all kinds of nicks and dings in it and the finish is looking awfully dull from being wiped down twenty-seven times a day. My husband doesn’t want me to paint it because he likes the wood look. Your technique will make us both happy – I’ll have a fresh new table-top and he’ll have his wood look.

I love this so much! I have to ask … how does your painters tape work so well for you? It ALWAYS bleeds for me, making me a very cranky crafter! Any tips and tricks please? (Btw, I have your roman blinds in my sunroom and your headboard in my bedroom, love love love your projects!) 🙂

There’s no such thing as getting a perfect line with painters tape, but Frog Tape or tape with edgelock technology does make a big difference. We’re too cheap to buy that expensive stuff though, so we just use cheap off-brand tape and apply the paint or stain sparingly. The more paint or stain you slather over that tape edge, the more seapage you’ll have. Does that make sense?

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Attention: Almost any do-it-yourself project involves risk of some sort. Your tools, materials, and skills will vary, as will the conditions at your project site. Reality Daydream has made every effort to be complete and accurate in the instructions of the plans on this website. Reality Daydream will not assume any responsibility or liability for damages or losses sustained or incurred in the course of your project or in the use of the item you create. Always follow the manufacturer's operating instructions in the use of tools, check and follow your local building codes, and observe all commonly accepted safety precautions.